Death rates in Australia have remained steady over recent years, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The standardised death rate was 6 deaths per 1000 people in 2008 - unchanged since 2005. Twenty years ago, the rate was 9 deaths per 1000 people.

There were 143,900 deaths (73,500 men and 70,400 women) registered in 2008.

There was a small increase (1.9%) in the number of infant deaths from 2007, but this reflects a higher number of births. The actual infant mortality rate has decreased slightly, from 4.2 deaths per 1,000 births in 2007 to 4.1 in 2008.

Infant mortality rates for Indigenous Australians were around twice the rates for all Australians.

Further details are available in Deaths, Australia, 2008 (cat. no. 3302.0) available for free download from the ABS website <www.abs.gov.au>.
Regional, state and territory information is also available.

Media Note: The standardised death rate removes the effect of different age structures in different populations.